


Dirty Paws

by nikcholaxsmoak (Flamingarcher93)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Child Cora, M/M, Mentions of Laura Hale - Freeform, Werewolf!Derek, Witch!Stiles, healed Peter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-04-30 00:31:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5143694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamingarcher93/pseuds/nikcholaxsmoak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All he wants is nothing more than to have a simple life, one without pain and torture. He wants his parents back and to find love, what he doesn't see happening is that it will be in the form of a undergraduate biomedical engineer, a geeky barista.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

For sometime, Derek Hale couldn’t understand why this had happened to him. Sure, it happened to the rest of his family, also, but he was the one who had burdened them with the loss of their family. Although he knew the reason why it had happened and who had done it, he still couldn’t wrap his head around why it had happened to him. Why couldn’t she have found some other lonely teenager and prayed on them; not that Derek would wish this on anybody else. This was something that he had to deal with, even if it was seven years later and he still hadn’t managed to settle on the idea that his parents were gone and they were never going to return to him, or that his big sister wasn’t there to tease him about his looks. He would never be able to run to his mom to tell on Laura for doing said thing. There was no one left to tuck Cora in at night and promise her that the monsters were not coming to get her, well no one except Derek and his uncle. But it’s not the same when your parents aren’t the ones to tuck you in and kiss you goodnight. But Derek tried his best.

He had started hanging out at the local coffee house. He would down three or four cups of coffee whilst viciously typing out his latest ideas onto his laptop. The only thing keeping him going was the slight buzz of caffeine that his abilities couldn’t hold off. It all started as he was preparing to gather his notes together and send them off to a publisher. It was Peter’s idea. He told him to do something worthwhile with his work, instead of just building up file upon file on his computer and not actually publishing his work. The only person to read it was his uncle, who would usually send him away with notes and corrections on how he could make the story more dynamic or how he could make the characters more 3-D and relatable. There was only one distraction in his oasis of coffee and chilled out music.

His name was Stiles. Well, that’s what his badge said anyway. It was written in scrawly writing with a chalk pen on a blackboard name badge. It was crossing the border between cool and hip, to just plain hipster and ‘Stiles’ fit the picture perfectly. He was a typical undergraduate who seemed too big for his boots. Whilst looking like a generic barista with a high school diploma and only _just_ scraping his way into college; he was actually studying a PH.D in Neurobiology and Behaviour, with the intentions to move onto a graduate degree in biomedical engineering. This was only because he wanted to find a way to 'cure' his ADHD or find a more manageable way of living with the condition, without all the awful side effects of the many pills he had to take. And to add to the irony of a hipster looking barista working in a coffee shop, because of Stiles' medication it was impossible for him to even drink coffee. Derek watched as Stiles' black, thick rimmed, Ray Ban glasses slipped down his slightly upturned nose every few seconds and his black skinny jeans looked like they were close to cutting off the circulation in his legs anytime soon. He scuffed his black sneakers across the linoleum as he walked from counter to counter, twisting knobs, heating milk and grinding beans. He didn’t look like he wanted to be there, but who would want to work around the constant smell of stale coffee all day? Derek only enjoyed it because it reminded him of home, but his nose was more sensitive to the smell of burnt coffee than the average human. But there was something about Stiles that only Derek could see, well smell. Derek’s supernatural nose seemed to always pick up a slightly sour smell from Stiles, a smell that he always associated with the one witch who had tried to curse him when he was a child. She even looked like the male before him.

Derek had been writing for 3 hours straight and hadn’t even realised. The time had flown by and his coffee had been automatically topped up by Stiles. The sour smell lingering for a few seconds after his departure. He had been so caught up in his writing that he hadn’t seen the time, or the missed calls from his uncle. He had duties to take care off every day. At 2.30pm he would leave the comfort of his safe haven and head towards the Elementary school down the street where his younger sister, Cora, went to school. He would always be waiting outside when she was let out. Apart from today. Today, she would be waiting for him. He scooped his papers together in a rush, not caring about which order they fell into, pushed them into his bag and then slapped his laptop closed. He had barely managed to fit everything in his backpack when he went racing into Stiles. A fresh iced coffee spilling down his front and staining his white t-shirt. The fabric clung to his stomach and he couldn’t help but notice Stiles staring.  
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I didn’t even see you!”  
“It’s okay.” Derek mumbled in reply to Stiles’ constant fussing.  
“Here, look. You can borrow my shirt.”  
“Honestly, it’s okay.” Derek insisted, as he eyed the shirt that would clearly be too small.  
“No no, take it.” Stiles was now taking Derek’s bag from his shoulder and pushing him towards the small public restroom. In true Derek fashion, he mumbled and complained the entire way. He changed into the shirt easily, but it was still too tight. He pulled his leather jacket on over the top and hoped it would hide the size of it.

As he left, he gave Stiles a quick thank you and dropped five dollars into his tip jar before running towards the school. He would be late and that wasn’t okay. He was the only one Cora could rely on anymore and he had felt he had let her down. He let out a sigh as he rounded the corner and ran up to the young girl who was sat on the steps, her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees. She looked fed up.  
“Derek! You’re forty-five minutes late!” She complained as she stood up and threaded her hand into his immediately.  
“I know, Cora. I’m sorry. I got carried away with my writing.” He told her and turned to thank the teacher who had been watching over her.  
“What are you wearing?” She asked with a suppressed giggle.  
“A barista spilt coffee on me and insisted I wore his shirt.”  
“But it’s like a thousand sizes too small! Uncle Peter will laugh when he sees you!”  
“Yeah, yeah, kiddo.” He grumbled and lead her home.

He knew today would have been a bad day, he just didn’t expect it to be that bad.


	2. Chapter 2

The steadily rising sun which was shimmering through the glass windows and heating Stiles up at a quicker than normal rate did not help cool him down, but neither did the steam from the coffee machines, or the fact that he just spilt a freshly made latte down his black shirt; which left a huge stain on the front of his burgundy apron. His supervisor, Jess, had stopped telling him off for the ‘Stiles-isms’ that seemed to just follow him around no matter how hard he tried to stop. She simply pointed to the back, not even explaining what she wanted to him to do; only because he had done the previous actions so many times that Jess had considered creating him a box of spare clothes just for busy saturday shifts.  
Stiles let out a long sigh and not-so-gently dropped the metal milk jug onto the counter, before turning on his heel and heading out back whilst ripping his apron from his body. He was completely unaware that the tall, dark haired, regular had just walked through the door with a young girl in tow. He was even more unaware that that said guy was watching as Stiles pulled his black polo shirt over his head as he slipped through to the office, showing off a pale slab of skin with a constellation of moles decorating his back. Stiles screwed up the black shirt and threw it in the general direction of his backpack with a huff. He grabbed another, slightly grubby, shirt from the pile he had left on the side and slipped it on before hunting for another apron and grabbing his name badge from the discarded one. He opened the door and stepped out but hovered a few seconds in front of it to try catch a glimpse of his slightly flustered reflection in the partly mirrored door window. He huffed out another breath and turned to head behind the counter and returned to his place behind the cash register. He typed in his number and then looked up. He was shocked to be faced with the very handsome male, who also appeared to be very single, considering he always turned up on days that Stiles worked. Only this time, he had a young girl following behind. He smiled at the male and then at the girl.  
“Who’s the kid?” Stiles asked casually, he didn’t mean to make it sound rude but then again most things that came out of Stiles’ mouth turned out rude. He watched as the male turned to push the girl’s hood down to reveal long, brown curls. The male himself, shook rain from his eyes, they fell onto the girl who let out a loud whine followed by a giggle.  
“She’s my younger sister.” He told Stiles with a smile. “It’s my turn to look after her.”  
Stiles didn’t hear anything he said, he just watched as he interacted with the young girl, it was too sweet to miss. That was until Derek began rummaging in his bag. He pulled out a bright orange and blue shirt and handed it over the counter.  
“Thanks for that the other day. It’s been washed and ironed.” He told him with a slight blush on his cheeks. Stiles simply took the shirt and chucked it under the counter for now, mirroring Derek’s blush.  
“W..What can I get you?” Stiles stammered, secretly hoping it wasn’t something fancy and would leave him covered in chai powder, like the last time he was ordered to make a chai latte.  
“Just a black coffee and a hot chocolate for Cora.” He said with a smile and then stuck his hand into his damp pocket and pulled out his leather wallet.  
“Name?”  
“Huh?” Derek asked, it was clear he was slightly distracted as he pulled the money from his wallet.  
“I..It’s busy today...I need to put your name on the, umm, cup.” He mumbled, barely making eye contact.  
“Oh.” Derek answered and then broke into a smile. “It’s Derek and she’s Cora.” He told him as he dropped a hand to his sister’s shoulder.  
“Derek.” He whispered to himself as he scrawled it onto the paper cup. He dropped it to the side of him and then proceeded to write Cora on a smaller cup and added a smiley face.  
Stiles had just turned to begin making the drinks when Jess ran over and took him by the shoulders, Derek’s cup still in his hand, as she turned him and directed him to the end of the bar.  
“Do not touch a thing! We already have enough mess to clean up. Stay!”  
“Down girl.” Stiles mumbled as he leant against the counter and untopped the marker pen with his teeth. There were times where Stiles would often zone out and be completely unaware of what he was doing and what others were doing around him. This was one of those times. He had been doodling on the paper cup for the past five minutes. He had successfully drawn an angry octopus attacking the lady on the cup. He had just finished when the cup was snatched from his hand and he was ordered to make the hot chocolate. Due to Stiles’ recent episode of staring into space, he hadn’t quite kept himself together enough to realise that Jess had taken his ‘doodle’ cup and was starting to pour filter coffee into it. He had just pushed the hot chocolate onto the end of the bar and called out the order, when he saw Jess add the black coffee to the bar and Derek taking both of them just as quickly. He nearly fell over himself when he saw the Octopus walking away with Derek. He could have crawled under the bar in embarrassment. He turned away from the bar and tried to compose himself, it didn’t exactly work, but he managed to look over his shoulder for enough time to be able to check for Derek’s reaction. Luckily, he was smiling. But that could have been for many reason, that’s what Stiles tried to tell himself anyway. It was nice to see, Stiles could sense that something bad had happened in the male’s past. Stiles had worked his way from the bar to the tables, stopping short when he came closer to Derek’s table. He was hit by a series of emotions. Anger, anguish, sadness and the tiniest hint of happiness.

It’s not like Stiles hadn’t had his own fair share of pain. He was brought up as a witch by his mother and father, his father was human and his mother had a long history of witches in her family. It just so happened that Stiles didn’t turn out like his father, well not in his biological make up anyway. It was strange to Stiles that he could turn out so much like his father, but follow in his mother’s witch footsteps. Despite his mother being so powerful, no matter how many crystals or runes or spells she could conjure, nothing could protect her from the awful and terribly human death she faced. He was eight years old and despite them knowing it was going to happen sometime soon, he didn’t expect to face it so early. He also didn’t expect the woman who had tucked him in at night, read him stories and fixed his cuts, to be shouting at him on a rooftop and being so adamant that the young boy she had helped nurture was killing him. She had died two weeks later in her sleep. They feared that Stiles might have the same condition; frontotemporal dementia, a shrinkage of the brain that leads to dementia and eventually death. His mother was a main reason as to why he had decided to study what he did, he wanted to not only find a way to stabilize his ADHD, but to also eventually move onto developing a cure, or a treatment for said disease; so no other child would have to watch their mother or father die at such a young age.

He almost dropped the tray he was holding when he realised that Derek was sharing an emotion with him, not intentionally, more of an accidental sharing that only happened when someone has lost their mother as well. Stiles felt it from Cora as well, but it was less strong. He mulled it over as he walked back to the bar, he figured she was quite young and if Derek’s pain was strong, her death must have happened a few years ago but Cora was too young to understand the loss. He dropped the now-full tray on the bar and began to load them into the dishwasher or the sink. He took one glance at the clock and found himself internally cheering as he realised he had five minutes of his shift left. Those last five minutes were spent making himself a decaf, vanilla latte; the sugar in the syrup would keep him going through his studying session that night. He kept it behind the counter whilst he gathered his things, staying in his black polo shirt but pulling a red hoody over the top and slipping his arms through his backpack. He grabbed his coffee from the counter and tried to do a graceful spin to head towards the door, only he didn’t notice the puddle of water he had stepped in until he went flying across the linoleum floor, effectively spilling his coffee down himself for the second time that day and landing not-so-gracefully in the arms of tall, dark and handsome. He hadn’t even realised Derek had moved from the table. He had taken Cora to the toilets to change out of her wet clothes and currently had her purple tights and her wet dress over his shoulder and now, Stiles in his arms.  
“Careful.” Derek commented, but in a softer voice than Stiles expected.  
“T..Thanks.” He stuttered and stood up, groaning as he saw the state of himself.  
“Well, at least you have use for that shirt now.” He smirked at Stiles and then made sure he was out of the puddle before letting go of him.  
“It suited you.” Stiles countered, but there was a small smile on his lips.  
“Whatever.” He told him sarcastically before taking Cora’s hand again. “Watch where you are stepping now, there won’t always be a knight to catch the damsel.” He joked before heading to his table.  
Stiles was pretty dumbfounded and it took him a good five minutes to get his limbs to cooperate enough to get him back to the cash register to retrieve the discarded shirt and then to the toilets to change. He came out wearing the same orange and blue shirt he gave Derek, a slight smirk on his lips as he pulled his beanie on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, tell me what you think, any comments are appreciated.  
> Keep your eyes open for the next chapter....DEREK ANGST
> 
> Stiles' doodle : http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RAayA5fWBjI/Tiz1MQZG4zI/AAAAAAAAB1s/ms4AywRc7Uw/s1600/Cup+10.jpg


	3. Chapter 3:

As much as he hated to admit it, Derek could not get the goofy expression of the overly-hyperactive barista out of his head. The image kept distracting him and making it harder to work, whether he was at home or in direct presence of said person. He had continued to take Cora with him most weekends; she seemed settled there, it was a rare sight. Since moving to New York, Derek had rarely had to take care of any rogues - mainly because his uncle usually cleaned them out before he could, but tonight was different.   
  
He had just packed everything into his bag and had bid goodbye to Stiles and Jess, they were closing the shop for the night - he didn’t realise how long he had stayed that night. He slung his bag over his shoulder and threaded his other arm through the loop after he exited the shop, pulling the door closed behind him and enjoying the slight tinkle of the bell above the shop door. He took a few minutes to check his phone and send a text to his uncle to tell him he was on his way home, before he headed off down the street. He decided he would cut through Fort Greene Park tonight, enjoy the view. He didn’t usually take this route because it was much longer than just getting the subway at York Street and getting off at Lafayette Avenue. But it was nice out and he felt like taking the extra 45 minutes to get home, he was in no rush.   
  
The area was nice and quiet and although nowhere was really safe at night, no matter what part of the city you lived in, Derek could defend himself easily and that’s how it would remain. Little did he know, partly because he failed to pay attention these days but also because he hadn’t checked his cell phone before leaving, his uncle had been having some difficulty with a pack of werewolves in the area that had heard that Talia’s son, the next Alpha, lived close by and if they eradicated his overprotective Uncle, they could then get to the heir and his sister.   
  
When the fire hit his family home in Beacon Hills, Derek had been certain that it was his fault. In all honesty, he still thought it was, but less so. He hated feeling guilty about something so complicated, something that they would never figure out completely, but he couldn’t help it. It plagued him at night and he would often wake in a tangle of sheets and a cold sweat. Although Peter spent many years telling him that it wasn’t his fault, he still didn’t believe him. He had been the one who had become too close to the hunter and who had fallen head over heals for her good looks, sweet personality and apparently fake love for him. She had become more abrupt, more harsh about things leading up to the fire, but he was just convinced she had some ‘family’ things happening. He was half right.   
  
Derek pushed his hands into his pockets and then checked both ways before crossing the road and into Fort Greene park. He liked it. It reminded him that even though he was in a big city, he could still enjoy the nature he had back at home. Little did he know that currently his Uncle and younger sister were grieving over the death of his older sister. Little did he know that soon they might be grieving over his death. He barely noticed the one male who had followed him every step from the coffee shop to the park, but he smelt the strong scent of an Alpha as he looked up to see a tall man in dark clothes approach him from one of the paths that lead to the west side of the park. He didn’t stop, that would give him away too much, instead he continued to walk as he removed his hands from his pockets, his claws descended and his fangs grew in his mouth. He was being threatened, of course he would be ready to defend himself. The Alpha was getting closer and he only then noticed the beta behind him, both closing in on him fast. As the beta reached out towards him he ducked to the side and stepped out of their way, the beta’s claws sunk into the chest of his Alpha as he swiped out for Derek. That bought him some time as the Alpha chastised the beta and pulled himself free, tossing him aside like he weighed no more than a feather. Derek had broke into a run by then, his feet carrying him as fast as he could towards the south side exit, if he made it out of the park, his attackers would have nowhere to go, nowhere to take him down without exposing themselves.   
  
He pumped his legs and skidded on the gravel from the path as he took a corner too fast and slipped into the bushes which lined the path. He groaned and hissed in pain as thorns from the roses and bits of gravel stuck in his skin. He barely had time to recover before he was being pulled from the mess of leaves and flowers and thrown onto the path; his head fell back and hit the ground hard, it made his vision blur and twist and turn. He growled and tried to swipe at his attacker as the rest of his pack grouped around them. He was thrown off guard again when a punch to the face knocked him unconscious.   
  
Back home, Cora paced in the hallway of their apartment. It had been Peter’s turn to pick her up from school because Derek had a deadline, but it didn’t stop her from worrying when he didn’t come through the door at 9pm or 10 or 11. Eventually she had slumped to the floor in front of the door, her thumb in her mouth and her hand gripping her blanket tightly. Peter had been trying Derek constantly on his cell with no response. He walked into the hallway and lifted the sleeping girl into his arms and carried her to bed. He tucked her in and made sure she was sleeping before turning on her night light and leaving the door open a crack. He then stayed on the sofa, his phone in hand, trying Derek every half hour. It wasn’t like Derek to be late and with what had happened to Laura, it only made him more nervous. He couldn’t ring the police until he knew it was not a supernatural matter, but he was well aware that it was supernatural.  
  
Derek woke in a dull, damp basement. His hands shackled above his head. His shirt was in tatters by his bare feet, they barely brushed the floor. He looked around the room and saw a beta in the corner. She was dainty and had long dark hair. She reminded him of his first love, Paige. He tried not to alert her to his woken state as he looked around the room for a way out. There was a small window on the wall to his left, he wouldn’t be able to fit through it, but it showed that it was beginning to get light, the soft colours of dawn breaking through the clouds left over from the overcast night. When he looked to his left, there were several instruments on a metal table, laid out like he was about to go for an operation. A sick game being lead by the Alpha, probably. He couldn’t figure out why this was happening to him, but he figured it had something to do with his mother. She had been a strong Alpha, an evolved wolf, she was rare and coveted by many. Whether it was because they wanted to become part of her pack, or because she was a wise woman who knew a lot about the folklore of their abilities and how to become the best they could be. Derek had always looked up to her, even when she sent his father away, she had done it for their benefit.   
  
He hadn’t meant to make so much noise as he tried to move from one foot to the other, to relieve the pressure on them, but the chains rattled and seemed to have woke the beta in the corner. He had an inkling that she had been asleep, her heart rate had been slow and her breathing was even, he should have tried to escape then.   
“I wouldn’t move if I was you.” She commented as she stood up. Around her was a rubber mat, her chair sat on top of it. Her long hair fell over her shoulder as she reached behind her for the light. It was dusty and seemed to shed as it flickered on. The harsh light alerted Derek to something worse. Around him was water, in the water was live wires. Ever since the fire he had feared being strung up like this, Peter had told him about ways in which hunters would torture werewolves, it seemed these weres learnt from the best. When he focused he could smell at least one human in the next room, the rest seemed to be weres.   
  
He looked up at the girl and rose his eyebrow slightly.   
“So they’ve left a little girl to try control me?” He asked carefully, he wasn’t trying to anger her, just get information from her. He slipped as he tried to relieve the pressure off of the toes on his right foot and slipped. The sole of his foot slipped into the water and bolts of electricity ran through his body, making it convulse. He gritted his teeth and worked as quick as he could to get his feet back on the small amount of rubber padding he was allowed. Eventually both feet perched safely on the mat and yet his body still twitched as the aftershocks ran through him.   
  
He was ready to fight his way out but as soon as he had formed even a thought of a plan, the Alpha approached.   
“Now, you can either co-operate and tell us where the Alpha is, the heir to Talia’s pack, or we can continue this little game until you’re as dead as your poor little mother.” They clearly had no idea that Derek was now the heir to Talia’s pack and that the person they needed was at home, watching over Cora to make sure he didn’t fail his sister’s wishes to look after her children if anything happened to them.   
“I don’t know what you mean.” Derek growled as the Alpha stepped down onto the rubber mat beside the young girl.   
“Oh, Chloe, isn’t that sweet.” The Alpha commented as he slung an arm around the girl’s shoulders. “He doesn’t even know what’s happened. All this time and he hasn’t figured out that he’s lost another family member.”   
Derek’s head snapped up, his eyes shone blue as he made eye contact with the Alpha. The Alpha walked across the line of rubber mats and reached out to grip Derek’s chin between his thumb and forefinger.   
“How beautiful. It’s rare to see such pure beauty in a killer.” He commented as he turned Derek’s head to the side and then rubbed his thumb over his cheek. “You see Chloe, there is only one reason as to why a Beta like Derek Hale would have eyes so blue.” He looked over his shoulder at the girl. “He’s killed an innocent.” The Alpha let go off Derek’s chin and stepped back towards his Beta. Derek’s chin dropped and his eyes filled with sadness and anger.   
“Isn’t my Chloe beautiful?” He asked as he dropped a hand to her shoulder. “Recently turned, she’s still learning, but she’s quick. Maybe, if you told us the truth, I could spare your life and you could live with us, teach my dear Chloe how to be strong and how to not deceive her pack and get them killed.” The words stung, as if he had been slapped. He let out a growl, loud enough to rattle the weak shelves and the brass door knobs.   
“Be like that.” The Alpha told him, as he took Chloe’s hand and walked up the stairs, flicking off the light and leaving Derek in the meak dark.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please leave any comments or critiques you have. I love to hear it all. This chapter was betaed from my friend on tumblr. If you want to leave a prompt, come message me on tumblr, I RP on there but I use it for everything. It's hisevolution.tumblr.com
> 
> enjoy.


	4. Chapter 4

The only reason Stiles didn’t like New York at winter was simply because he didn’t understand how quickly the temperature could change from mild to freezing overnight. Luckily he had been in the coffee shop the entire day, open till close; it was getting closer to Christmas and he needed the extra money. So, he reluctantly tucked away the last of the replacement take-away cups, and made sure all the shutters were down before he headed to the back to grab his things. He changed out of his uniform and pulled on his jacket and his signature beanie. He wrapped his scarf around his neck and pulled on his gloves. He shouldered his bag and then headed out of the office. If she hadn’t made a noise, Stiles wouldn’t have even noticed she was there, he would have locked her inside.   
  
He turned as he approached the door and saw Cora curled up on the booth, his booth, her legs tucked to her chest, tears drying on her cheeks. Stiles dropped his bag by the door and approached slowly.   
“Cora, right?” He asked carefully. All he got was a nod. He stepped closer and then lowered himself into the booth with her.   
“What has you in such a state Cora? Why are you here alone?” He asked quietly, he slowly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. All of his moves were slow and calculated for the first time in his life. He didn’t want to startle her, it was obvious she was already scared. The little girl sunk into Stiles’ side and let out a little hiccup as she tried to stop her tears. Her hands, her sleeves pulled down over them, reached out for Stiles. She pulled herself close enough to the male that she was practically in his lap.   
“Cora, where is Derek? Surely he wouldn’t let you leave the house alone.” He stated and he instantly regretted his words as it only made her cry more. That’s when Stiles scooped her up and held her close to his chest, he curled her into his lap and he tried to comfort her until her crying actually stopped. He was usually stopped in his tracks by children, but there was something about Cora that made it easy to look after her.   
  
He had a family once upon a time. Like Derek, Stiles and his father had once lived in Beacon Hills and like Derek, he had been moved because of too many bad memories. Stiles had been moved two years after his mother’s death, his father couldn’t cope anymore and he was struggling to keep his focus on his job and not on the alcohol. Stiles had grown up in the concrete jungle since then. Only, Stiles had not made the connection between Derek and Cora with the the people of the same name who had had their family slaughtered in Beacon Hills a year after he moved to New York.   
  
He kept rubbing Cora’s back and waited for her to be able to talk. It took another ten minutes and a hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows for her to feel relaxed enough to talk.   
“Derek is missing.” She hiccuped as she wiped whipped cream from her top lip with the back of her hand. Stiles handed her a napkin and watched her wipe her hand on it. “He never came home last night or the night before and Uncle Peter has let me stay off of school because we were told that my older sister was killed. He called it com...com…” She soon gave up with a growl of frustration.   
“Compassionate leave.” Stiles told her as he continued to listen the best he could whilst trying to figure out where Derek could have gone. “Was Derek at home when you got the call?”  
She shook her head, her curls swinging around her shoulders as she did so.   
“No! He was here, but he texted Uncle Peter to tell him he was on his way home and he never turned up. We went looking but we couldn’t find him.” That was a lie, they had both caught his scent in Fort Greene Park, but she had been told to not tell anyone about her abilities, especially now. “He just never turned up! I stayed up all night, waiting for him and I got to sleep through the day, but only because Uncle Peter told me to.” She told him seriously. She lifted the mug to her lips and finished the last dregs of her drink, the bit Stiles usually avoided because it held all the grinds from the coffee. Once she had finished, he cleared the mug away and then stood up.   
“Come on, Cora. I’m sure your Uncle is worried. We should get you home.” He told her and held his hand out to her. She sighed and walked up to him. He took her to the door and zipped her coat back up and made sure she was all set to face the harsh weather, before grabbing his bag and opening the door. He locked up with ease and then took Cora’s hand.   
“Do you remember the way home?” He asked softly. He got a nod in response. He let her lead the way, she had taken the route of walking simply because she wanted to search the park for more clues of her brother’s whereabouts. Stiles knew the way through the park because he lived only a block away from Derek and he never had money for the subway so he always walked home. He could see Cora was on high alert as she walked her way through the park.   
  
Stiles had drifted into his own thoughts for a few minutes, when suddenly Cora stopped in her tracks. His arm locked and then fell back as he was stopped by her. He looked down at her and rose an eyebrow comically.   
“What’s wrong?” Cora was staring intently at the ground. When he stooped down there was blood and a single purple petal on the floor. Stiles ran his finger over the blood. It was dry. He lifted the petal up and held it out to Cora, who dropped Stiles’ hand and backed away.   
“I was only going to ask if you knew what it was.” He told her in a confused voice. He examined it and then it hit him. He had come across this before and Cora backing away meant only one thing.   
“You’re a werewolf.” He stated as he pushed the petal into his pocket. “That’s why you wanted to get away from the Wolfsbane.” He added and then stepped closer to her. “Do you think they used it on your brother?” He asked her carefully. She stepped closer to him and nodded at all three things Stiles had said, her arms locked around Stiles’ neck and he held her tightly as he continued to crouch.   
“I can smell him. He’s mixed with the scents of others and I’m scared someone took him.” She sobbed into his chest. He sighed and stood up, lifting Cora with him as he did. He carried her out of the park, only stopping just before the gates where he got a strong sense of bad energy, pain. He was an empath, sometimes someone’s feelings would linger in the air and he would be able to detect it. He had been too distracted to sense it this morning but it was overwhelming now, like someone had returned to this very spot; although if this was Derek’s pain and sadness it could have easily been amplified by the crying girl in his arms. He wrinkled his nose slightly as it all got too much and quickly moved on.   
  
He wasn’t going to tell Cora what he was just yet, no doubt she would go tell her Uncle and he could end up the same way as Derek. He carried Cora the remainder of the way home and gingerly knocked on the door of the apartment. A man answered. He wore a dark blue v-neck t-shirt and a stupid, well to Stiles anyway, cardigan over the top. He looked like he was trying too hard.   
“I think she belongs to you.” Stiles joked as Peter reached out for his niece and held her in his arms. She closed her eyes as soon as she was in her Uncle’s warmth. Her arms tight around his neck.   
“Thank you! I’ve been looking everywhere. I suppose she told you that I’ve already misplaced one person in my care.” He told Stiles, his voice had a well mannered tone to it, like he would never mispronounce a word. Stiles simply nodded.   
“I’m sorry to hear about Derek. My dad is the Sheriff of this area, so if you need any help locating him, just give me a call.” He told him and quickly reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of paper and scrawled his number on it. He handed it over and said goodbye to a sleepy Cora before he headed out of the building.   
  
To get home, he had to enter the park again and take a right instead of a left. He had just turned the corner to head towards the second exit when someone stumbled out of the bushes and grabbed him.   
“Stiles.” He growled. When he looked up, he was staring into the eyes of a very bloody Derek. His hands were on Stiles’ arms, claws still out and fangs framing his mouth. “You have to help me, I know what you are.” He panted the words and it took Stiles 0.5 seconds to think about what he should do. He nodded once and helped to get Derek down the street and into the house he shared with his father; luckily he was on a late shift.   
  
He laid Derek on the couch and resisted the urge to make a dog joke before heading back outside and quickly spitting out a series of protection spells. He watched as a luminescent screen went over the house and then turned clear. Once satisfied he ran back inside and began to gather things he might need to clean up the wounded wolf that he hoped wasn’t bleeding out on his couch. He crouched beside him and began to wipe down his face first.   
“Don’t worry, Derek, you’re safe now.” He hoped.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, leave comments please :)


	5. Chapter 5

Derek had been unconscious for going on 3 hours now; not that Stiles had been counting. He would have been more worried about the wolf’s condition if his wounds hadn’t started to heal after the first hour. When Stiles looked over his shoulder from his place on the floor, he saw that all that was remaining to even indicate that the male had been injured, were a few smudges of blood across his torso. His wrists had a few slithers of blood running from the outside to his palm. When Stiles had found Derek, his wrists had deep cuts and were an angry shade of red. Stiles had stopped trying to clean him up when he was having difficulty distinguishing between just blood and skin or blood and wound. Even as Stiles kept flickering between coursework and video games, Derek’s words rang in his ears ‘I know what you are’.   
  
Stiles had no idea that Derek was of ‘different origins’ until he had been faced with a very bloody version of him. He had kept it hidden well, apparently better than Stiles had hid his own abilities, but there is only so much you can hide from a wolf. He was brought back to reality as a loud explosion struck his character on the screen.   
“Damn it.” He mumbled as he hit the home button on the controller and then turned the TV off and brought Spotify up on his phone. He figured he should try clean up the house before his father got home. He just pushed himself up with a grunt, pressing on a corner of the sofa to help his tired body to his feet, when a hand grabbed out for his wrist. He let out a startled noise and dropped his gaze down to Derek. Big green eyes were staring back up at him.   
“You’re awake.” He stated, lamely. He lowered himself back to the ground so Derek wouldn’t have to move too much to talk to him. He hadn’t taken much notice of Derek’s half naked form until he watched his abs flex as he pushed himself into a seated position.   
“Is this where the cliche ‘what happened’ question appears?” Stiles asked with a quirked eyebrow and the ghost of a smile.   
“That question will not be asked.” Derek told him as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. Now Stiles, being a supernatural himself, had always been researching that side of himself and, along the way, he eventually branched out to other supernaturals. So even though he knew werewolves healed and obviously felt pain at some point, he was surprised to see that the werewolf had something as mundane as a headache. It was something that, if Stiles concentrated hard enough, could probably pull from Derek so he no longer suffered, but he felt he needed to give Derek some space.   
“Well, if you’re not going to ask it, can I?” He questioned with a shrug. He barely knew anything about Derek, yet he felt so comfortable just talking like this, like there were no uncomfortable barriers to be broken down between them.   
“Let me wake up first.” Derek answered with a mumble.   
“Cora was looking for you.” Stiles continued, leaving out the part about his other sister; it only seemed fair to focus on the problem at hand, rather than bringing in other complicating factors.   
“She was looking for me?” He questioned, his eyes finally opening and landing on Stiles.   
“She was in the coffee shop as I was closing up, she was in tears. I took her home, I was on my way back when I found you.” He explained and then settled into a more comfortable position, tapping his right foot against the hardwood floor as pins and needles settled in. Derek didn’t seem too concerned that his younger sister was walking around New York by herself at night. It showed that Derek’s mind was somewhere else.   
“Come on Derek, what happened to you?” Stiles bugged. He was rewarded with a long sigh and a reluctant ‘OK’.   
“My mother was a well-known and highly respected, by most, Alpha. She died in a fire that happened at my family home. After her death, my sister Laura became the Alpha. My uncle wasn’t too happy, hee felt that he should have been the new Alpha because he was her brother. If Laura dies, I become the Alpha.” It was clear that Derek hadn’t felt any change. It was rare, but if a werewolf was injured when they became an Alpha, it’s known that they don’t often feel it.   
“A pack had heard of the Hale’s and how powerful and controlled we are. He thought he could increase his pack if he killed Laura and took me, Cora and Peter. The basement I was in was filled with water and had live wires in it. If I touched the water I would be shocked. I only escaped because I had help from one of the betas. He wanted out of the pack and figured if he helped me, he could join our pack.” Derek continued.   
“Then why didn’t I see him?” Stiled questioned, he was drawn in by Derek’s voice.   
“I told him I would go back for him, it would be suspicious if he left as well. I told him I would get help from Laura.” Derek answered, his hand now running down his tired face.   
“Derek, abou-”  
“- I just don’t understand how anyone could purposely hurt one of their betas. Laura wouldn’t dare.”  
“About Laura…” Stiles interrupted.   
“She used to bully me as a kid, but that’s sibling stuff.”  
“Derek! I think Laura is dead!” Stiles finally spat out. There was a horrible silence that hung in the air between them as Derek processed the information slowly. After a few seconds, he was stumbling to his feet and pushing Stiles out of the way.   
“Derek wait!” Stiles called as he got to his feet, struggling into a limp as his foot slowly woke up. He chased him outside and finally grabbed his arm.   
“One. You can’t walk the streets like that. You might be a werewolf but you have to act human. And two, it will be quicker to drive.” He told him as he dug his keys from his pocket and pointed to the rusting, blue jeep parked by the sidewalk. Derek turned his nose up at it but began to walk to the passenger side.   
“Good, no time to judge Roscoe.” Stiles commented dryly and then climbed behind the wheel, a serious look on his face.

  
  
                                                                                                                    *

 

Derek gave Stiles half-hazzard directions as they drove through the neighbourhoods, Stiles only barely remembered the way from earlier that night. The night was coming to an end as they pulled up outside the apartment block. Stiles had barely turned off the engine as Derek climbed out and ran towards the building. He held open the door for Stiles, but let go as soon as Stiles’ hand caught it. Of course Derek took the stairs, which meant Stiles ran after him; perpetually wheezing after every set.   
  
Derek unlocked the door and stumbled into the hallway, leaving it wide open for Stiles. He followed the werewolf as he navigated through the rooms until he found Cora curled up on her Uncle’s lap in the living room.   
“Cora!” Derek sighed out and strode up to the chair and lifted her into his arms. A very sleepy Cora gave a little noise of protest from being woken before figuring out who had woke her.   
“Nephew!” Peter exclaimed as he stood up, the blanket he had been using fell to the floor.   
“What happened?” He asked and clapped a hand onto his nephew’s bare shoulder, only glancing at Stiles as he caught his scent. “I see you brought the witch along.”   
“He saved me.” Derek told him before Stiles could answer.   
“Actually I just cleaned him up and kept him somewhere no one would think to look.” He told him, meaning his undesirable neighbourhood.   
“He still helped. But he said something concerning.” Derek told Peter as he rubbed Cora’s back and sunk onto the sofa, his body still a bit weak. “Peter, is Laura dead?”   
Peter looked over to Stiles and then back to Derek, a small nod to his head answered Derek’s question.   
“We found out the night you went missing. I thought you would have felt it.” He told him with a frown. “Surely you felt the change from beta to Alpha.” Derek shook his head and stood back up, walking to the mirror and watching his eyes change from green to red.   
“I can’t be an Alpha.” He whispered. “I’m not good enough for that. I’m nothing like Laura, or mom.” Peter sighed and walked over to Derek and Cora.   
“You are more like your mother than you think.” He turned back to Stiles. “Maybe you should stay here tonight, you look as tired as I feel and you shouldn’t drive like that.” Stiles just nodded numbly. He watched as Derek put Cora in her bed and then he was lead down the hall to a very minimal room. He was given a t-shirt and some pyjama pants and then told to sleep, Stiles didn’t even question it. He just watched Derek leave the room and walk back to Cora’s room where he slept in the chair by her bed. Stiles closed the bedroom door and changed, sinking between the sheets with a grateful sigh. It was nice to finally get some sleep.   
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being so patient. I have been sick and I've been having problems with my laptop. It is in the shop getting fixed so I am stealing time on my dad's computer when I get the chance to. 
> 
> All the best & this will prolly be the last update before Christmas, so MERRY CHRISTMAS <3


	6. Chapter 6

"I didn't bring him into this. He just happened to be there when I was attempting to get home. It's not like he hasn't dealt with something like this before. He's a witch. I hate to break it to you, but he's probably come across something g like us before or certainly something similar." 

The words echoed through the apartment. Stiles had been awake for several minutes now and the older males words sent a shiver down his spine. It was true, he had dealt with similar situations before, but nothing is quite the same as dealing with a vengeful alpha, hell bent on destroying a pack that has already suffered enough in the past few years and even recent!y, the past few nights. No one seemed to know the reason for Laura Hale's death and if they did, why should they divulge that information to Stiles? He was an outsider for many reasons and that was a very personal matter. But Stiles had never aimed to get Derek in trouble. He thought he was helping, he didn't realise he was making matters worse for the family. He knew that lycanthropy was a well guarded secret, lime his own Wicca abilities, but both parties had no way of stopping the other from founding out about them. It was inevitable in their situation.

It was obvious Derek was trying hard to speak in hushed whispers, but was failing. To add to the volume, Peter seemed to be having difficulties too. Their voices drifted through the apartment halls and banged its way into Stiles' head. It was common that Stiles would suffer from a migraine after performing a spell as big as the one used to protect his home and the wolf inside. His head seemed to be pulsing and a horrible ache pressed against the back of his eyes. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose and let out a short groan as he forced himself out of bed. He pulled at the loose pyjama bottoms and ventured into the adjoining bathroom. Like the rest of the house, the bathroom was modern and reflected Derek's style easily. His products were neatly lined up by the sink and even his toothbrush had its own stand with a cap on, to keep away the germs. If Stiles didn't know better, he would say Derek had some issues with cleanliness. He relieved himself in the toilet and then washed his hands, pausing to splash his face with water in an attempt to remove the crusty parts of sleep in the corner of his eyes. He felt stupid for feeling scared to leave the bedroom, but in his defence he was in a kind-of strangers home and they were having an argument about him. He took a deep breath and stepped into the hallway. 

His feet turned cold against the hard wood floors. Stiles didn't know why he expected anything different than a thoroughly modern apartment hidden inside a 19th century building. He passed Cora's room. Her door was open ajar and he could just see her under a mass of curls and blankets. A bunny teddy was dangling ion the edge of her bed, her hand just touching and threatening to push it off at any moment. He s!miles slightly and pushed open the door, he crept to her bed and gently folded the teddy into the girls arms and brushed her hair out of her eyes before leaving her to sleep. He figured she wouldn't be awake for a few more hours. Loosing her sister and then her brother clearly took a lot out of her. He pushed the door closed as he left and then continued his approach to the lounge. He stopped just outside, his hand braced on the door handle as more angry words drifted towards him. 

"You need to get rid of him Derek, he is in danger. Who's to say they won't go after him too? If he's anything like his mother, he's powerful and probably gets himself into danger omn a daily basis. Claudia was always careful but she was jumpy. You remember the time she baby sat you and Laura and she cursed you because you were meant to be in bed and crept up on her? Your mother was furious!" Peter spat out the words in a rush, like the pair had a deadline to have this conversation. 

"If they capture him and gag him or blindfold him, he will have no chance to escape. Its easy to tell he hasn't moved on to being able to use his powers without seeing or speaking. I think his development was shunted when Claudia passed. His father isn't a witch. He wouldn't know how to help "

"How do you even know? Claudia could easily have taught John what to do."

Stiles didn't hear the rest of Derek's counter argument. His mind seemed to fog up and make him dizzy. His headache became stronger. He stepped back from the door, his hands outstretched behind him as he backed away. He jolted as his back made contact with the side table behind him, knocking a China vase from the table onto thew floor, his body following, crashing into the table and breaking it into splinters. 

"What's going on?" Stiles heard the quiet, sleepy voice to his right. He turned his head but barely registered the sight of a very sleepy Cora, holding her bunny. The voices had stopped now and Stiles was being pulled to his feet by Derek whilst Cora was being taken back to her room by Peter. They knew his mother. The thought triggered a sickening feeling in Stiles. He looked up as two arms lead him into the lounge. He swallowed around the lump in his throat, trying to keep down the vomit threatening to rise. 

"Come on, you're bleeding. Let's get you cleaned up " he heard Derek say. His voice seemed a million miles away and Stiles was struggling to bring his focus to the fore-front. He could feel Derek's hand on his shoulder, but it felt light and gentle, like he wasn’t trying to maneuver the younger male from the hallway to the lounge. He was pushed towards the couch and then two big hands pushed on his shoulders to make him sit. It was evident that Derek Hale knew a lot about the supernatural world. Derek crouched in front of him and took Stiles' hand in his and began to inspect the wound. 

"Its not too bad. A minor cut, but I am going to have to pick out the pieces that got stuck inside ." he held his hand out, knowing his uncle had entered the room despite his silent footfalls. He took the first aid kit from Peter and glanced at his uncle. 

"I'll be fine. Can you check on Cora? Try get her to eat some breakfast for once?" It was obvious the pair took it in turns to look after the littlest Hale. 

"I'm sorry, Stiles." Derek told him, his attention turning back to Stiles' bloody hand. 

"I thought you might have put together the pieces by now , but I think you must have been too young. I should have known when you didn't recognize me at the coffee shop. I thought you were doing it on purpose."

"Sorry I'm slower than you expected." Stiles countered, his words slurring slightly. 

"Don't be like that Stiles. I wasn't doing anything creepy like you might think. I was actually just grateful to see someone from home." The annoyance could be heard easily in Derek's voice. 

"Someone from home?" Stiles enquired, his eyes now falling shut as he rested his head back on the couch. 

"You used to live in Beacon Hills." Derek stated confidently and was rewarded with a slight nod from Stiles. 

"My older sister, Laura, used to babysit you when your mom was in hospital. I just remember this hyperactive child who suddenly became very sad. After that she stopped babysitting you. We moved out here after my parents died. You and your dad moved here so you could go to college right?" It was Derek's lame attempt to distract Stiles as he began to pick out the pieces of China. 

"How did you know that?"

"After the fire, after we moved, your father kept in contact with Laura. I think he was keeping tabs on us, making sure we were okay. I mean we have Peter but losing your parents isn't fun, especially when you have a young child to look after too. He told her you were moving out here so you could go to college, I was just surprised you were at a college level already. You're a smart kid, I half expected you to be in college by the age of twelve." For once, Derek Hale cracked a smile that wasn't a direct result of his sister. 

"Were you keeping tabs on me? I mean when you figured out who I was."

Derek gave a quick shrug in response and began to wipe away the blood from Stiles' palm. 

"I certainly kept an eye out for you, made sure you were safe. I didn't mean to get you involved in all of this, Stiles. I picked up your scent as I was trying to get home and then I followed it. If I hadn't, I could have been dead by now." Stiles watched as Derek moved to sit beside him and began to wrap a bandage around his hand. His head was less foggy. The instant pain was gone and had been replaced by a dull ache, that he could manage. 

"Its okay, Derek. You needed help and I wasn't just going to let you bleed out in the park. But, I guess the tables have turned." He mumbled as he watched Derek put the kit back together. Derek gave a weak smile. He patted Stiles' shoulder and went to out the kit away. He returned with some aspirin and a glass of water. 

"Drink all the water. When we moved here, I was pretty lonely and bored after the fire. Laura refused to let me go to school again, wouldn't let me out of her sight. So I flicked through some of Peter's books. I read up on your species...I guess that's not the right word, but I read up on witches and I read about your reactions to pain. But its rare isn't it? Not all of you react this way." 

Stiles shook his head and ran his hand over his face. 

"Its rare, but mom was like it too. Its why she was in hospital so much prior to her death. She would forget how to use something like a knife and would hurt herself but end up in agony because of it. The doctors thought it was because of her condition and put it down to chronic pain, but me and dad knew the truth."

Due to Stiles' sleepy condition, Derek took him back to bed and let him sleep. He called his dad and told him where Stiles' was and then settled in the chair beside his bed. Just in case.  

 

                                                                                                                 *

 

His hands trailed along the white washed walls as he travelled down the long, never ending corridor. He had been here before, one too many times; but he couldn’t seem to pull out a memory, like it was buried deep in his mind and tricks were being played on him to make him forget. He walked past a door. Room 101. And another. Room 102. And another. Room 103. Names blurred in his head, he forgot each one instantly. Except for one. The name was written on the door’s dry-erase board.  _ Cludaia Stlnsiiki _ . He blinked, reached out for the door handle, looked at the name again. He couldn’t understand the letters, but he knew who was waiting for him inside the room.    
  
He pushed the door open. His mom was propped up in the bed, covered by a white gown and white sheets, white skin. No, translucent skin. She had grown weak and was bedridden. A wheelchair was at the other end of the room, facing the wall.    
“Mommy?” He heard the words but didn’t recognise his own voice.    
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you never to speak to strangers?” A frown formed on the boys face.    
“You are my mom!” He retaliated, his words echoing throughout the room.    
“I don’t have any children! I don’t even know who you are!” Tears streamed down the boys face.    
“I’m your son! I’m Stiles! Mommy! You can’t forget me...not yet! Mommy!” The tears continued down his face, dripping onto his shirt. A strong hand landed on his shoulder.    
“Come on son. Mommy isn’t well today.”    
  
He was practically dragged from the room, kicking and screaming. Begging for his mother to recognise him. 

 

                                                                                                     *

He woke with a start, his hands gripped in the sheets. Tears fresh on his face.    
“Mom!” He gasped as he looked round the strange room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long to be added. I've been working on it for a while now. I'm not totally happy with it, but it's enough :)

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments and critiques
> 
> Edit - Stiles' course has been changed from a History Major at NYU to studying Neurobiology and Behaviour at Columbia. I feel this reflects his personality well. He may be a witch but he still has ADHD and likes to research. He likes to try and understand why he has ADHD. He would then move onto a graduate degree in biomedical engineering to try develop a way to 'cure' ADHD.


End file.
